McCain Sees Fellow Reformer in VP Pick Palin

JUDY WOODRUFF:

For more on Sarah Palin and her record in public office, we turn to Lindsey Holmes, a Democratic state representative from Alaska. She has been here in Denver this week as a delegate to her party's convention.

And joining us from Anchorage, Michael Carey, host of a weekly political program for Alaska Public Television and a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News.

And Kaylene Johnson, author of "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down."

Thank you, all three, for being with us.

Kaylene Johnson, let me start with you. Let's look first at her work on the city council and her work as mayor of Wasilla. What was notable about her record in those jobs?

KAYLENE JOHNSON, Author, "Sarah": Well, I think one of the things that came up right at the beginning was that she was inexperienced, and she still wound up being elected to the council and making efforts and headway right at the beginning.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

And she moved on…

KAYLENE JOHNSON:

She…

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Go ahead.

KAYLENE JOHNSON:

Well, she basically took on the good-old-boy network right at the beginning with city council starting in the Wasilla city council. And when she did that, she made enemies right away, but she also made some good friends.

And I think that that has served her well, that she has basically stood up for what she believed in and moved forward. And she hasn't really taken the notion that inexperience is a reason not to move forward and not to move on the things that you believe in.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

She then ran for the Alaska — or was asked to serve, I should say, on the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission. What about her record there?

KAYLENE JOHNSON:

Well, she was — she was appointed to be the ethics officer for that position or for that commission. And she saw some violations in ethics that were coming directly from the leader and the head of the Republican Party here in Alaska.

Well, she called him on that. And you would have thought that that might have been the end of her career, because she was calling on the carpet the person in charge of the Republican Party in Alaska.

So she really — she did that, and she basically came out swinging. And that really showed her as a reformer, and it also showed that principle was above party politics, as far as she was concerned.